Call Me Hope
by The Chocolate Queen
Summary: I never knew who my parents were, or who I really was. And for the first 13 years of my life, I  honestly didn't care. But that all changed when I was sent to impersonate a high-class rich girl traveling to Konoha. And when I met "Team 7", my escorts.
1. It Began with an Ending

**Hey there, all you wonderful people who are reading this! I redid the first chapter because I realized my first attempt was, quite frankly, a mega-fail. This is very short, so it's actually kind of like a prologue. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own some stuff, but sadly, Naruto isn't one of them. *sob***

-/-**  
**

Once upon a time-

Ok, I know. I know you're probably clicking the exit button right now. You're probably thinking, _I don't want_ _to read a crappy once-upon-a-time story. _But please bear with me, for a while.

Once upon a time, there was a midwife. Now you're probably thinking, _Ew. I don't want to read a story about a midwife_. But this _isn't _a story about a midwife. Heck, she's only in the first chapter. No, this is a story about the girl the midwife raised. This is the story about me. And my story begins now.

-/-

"So _this_ is the girl?" The dark-haired man sniffed distastefully at the little bundle cradled in the midwife's arms. There was a dark aura in the air, complementing the stuffy hospital smell.

Something was wrong.

"She's not making any sound," the midwife whispered, gazing anxiously at the baby. Usually, when they were born, they were born crying, screaming, and the like. This one was silent. That was usually a bad thing because it meant…well, it meant that the baby was dead.

The man lit a cigarette and took a long drag on it. The hospital didn't allow smoking, but that was the least of their troubles right now.

"I don't want it. It is not useful if it is _dead_," he spat.

"Sir, I understand," the midwife consoled, mistaking his indifference for sorrow. "You just need to wait for your wife to-"

"She's not my wife," he interrupted. "And since there is nothing for me to do now, I will be leaving."

The midwife gazed at the frail woman lying on the bed, still knocked out by the drugs. The man was starting to leave.

"Sir, then are you the father?" she questioned, turning back to the man.

"I think so."

"Then who is this woman?"

"...I…don't know."

-/-

Once the man left, the midwife didn't know what to do. Still carrying the baby in her arms, she sunk down to the floor. It had been a rough day on her. So overwhelming was her self-pity that she hardly felt it when the baby in her arms kicked her in the stomach.

There was no mistaking it the second time. Slowly, she looked at her, trying not to get too excited. She could have been hallucinating, after all…

When the baby kicked the third time, the midwife knew she didn't imagine it. Partly because the kick was accompanied by loud wailing. And partly because it kind of _hurt._

Sobbing with relief, the midwife clutched the baby closer to her. The mother hadn't woken up yet, so the midwife happily waited for her. But sadly, she was going to have to wait for a long time because the mother had been losing a lot of blood. She had lost so much blood, that slowly, she died.

-/-

When the midwife found out, she was aghast. Wringing her hands while the professionals took care of the woman, she wished she could find the father and tell him that the baby was alright. She couldn't figure out who he was. She checked the records and files countless times, but there was no trace of him. It was very strange.

The midwife was not heartless enough to leave the baby at an orphanage to fend for herself, so she decided to take her in.

"I've always wanted a child," she murmured, for she had recently lost her husband to disease before she could bear any children.

She kept the baby. She named her Mikomi.

_Hope_.

-/-

**Soo...How was that? Any better than my first attempt? Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Her Royal Majesty,**

**The Chocolate Queen xoxo  
**


	2. My Not So Awesome Mission

**Woah! I am like an updating machine! Two chapters in one day? I do believe I have set a record! :D**

**Here's a longer, better one to make up for that first one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sadly, my creativity level will never reach the one of Masashi Kishimoto's.**

-/-**  
**

"Hey, Mikomi! You wanna hang out tonight?"

The loud redhead shouted in my direction, her bright green eyes glittering in excitement.

"Sorry, Isamu. I can't. Boss says that I have a mission today."

I said "mission" like it was a dirty word. Believe me, it was. Being a ninja in the Land of Waves was bad luck. The superiors thought that when any little thing came up, they had to get a ninja to fix it. It was stupid. And I hated it.

"Oh." Her face fell. "Well, I'm going then. See ya!" She hung her apron on the rack, grabbed her bag, and giving me a little wave, she left.

We worked together in a dango store, Isamu and I. Isamu was three years older than me, and she worked part time. I was thirteen. I only managed to get this job because Auntie Ume -the midwife that had taken me in- was related to the stores owners.

I had moved to the Land of Waves when Auntie Ume got sick. A medic nin getting sick, how ironic. I lived with her in Konoha before we moved. I attended ninja school, so I… became a ninja. (Way to go, Mr. Obvious. Wait, I'm a girl. So shouldn't that be _Miss_ Obvious? Moment of ponder…anyway, moving on.)

Auntie Ume wanted us to move to the Land of Waves because she had relatives here (You know- the ones at the dango store). She died anyway. So now I'm alone, broke, and working at a dango store with the occasional mission every now and then.

Drumming my fingers on the countertop, I did what I always did when I was bored: I thought about what I was going to eat for dinner. I lived alone in a little apartment near the dango store, so I could eat anything I wanted without nosy people nagging me.

Hmm…let's see. I was pretty sure I still had a vat of frozen ice cream in the fridge. My mouth watered thinking about it. I could eat it with some fruit…that is, if I had any. What else did I have?

My thoughts about dinner were cut off when a man walked into the dango store. It was "Boss".

That's what I nicknamed him, because he always had a serious face on and acted like he was the boss of not only all humans, but also the entire earth. He was an authority figure, and gave me my "missions".

"Mikomi," he greeted me, and walked up to the counter. He had a very no-nonsense look on him and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I have a mission for you."

"Yes?" I wheedled in a nasally voice, and I swear he just mentally facepalmed. Man, I loved messing with people.

He sighed.

"Mikomi, be more mature. You're a ninja, surely you can handle that," he lectured, pushing up his glasses again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever,"

Sighing again, Boss said, "I need to speak with you privately. This mission is more serious than the others you've been previously assigned."

"What, you mean cleaning an _entire_ river instead of just cleaning one part of it?" I said sarcastically. "Dear Kami, how exciting!"

"Mikomi, _please_, be more mature. I need your cooperation on this," he practically begged.

"Yes, sir!" I even bowed, so he would see how cooperative I was being.

He just sighed. Hey, maybe I should re-nickname him the King of Sighs! Man, I'm a genius.

-/-

5 minutes later, I was in the Boss's office.

"This is your mission," he said, handing me a piece of paper. I scanned it over.

"You will need to impersonate Lady Michiko. She is the daughter of Lord Akihiro; surely you've heard of him," he continued. I gave him a blank stare, and he sighed. I _really_ should start calling him the King of Sighs. KOS for short.

"Lord Akihiro is a very important man in our nation. He owns and operates a lot of trading ports. Recently, he had to attend to a grave family matter. Unfortunately, at the same time, he was supposed to go to Konoha and attend a business meeting. His daughter was going to go with him, but he feels that it is not safe for her to go, even with escorts. And he had just received an anonymous threat from a business opponent about how they would kidnap his daughter if he wouldn't drop out of the trading industry. You see, Lord Akihiro is feared in some places because of his influence, and some people thinks that he has too much power. So it isn't safe for Lady Michiko to travel."

I wrinkled my nose. "But why don't they just send someone else instead of making me impersonate her? I mean, isn't that kind of like lying?"

"Lord Akihiro is very reserved about that. He doesn't like letting people down, especially because he promised the Hokage that Lady Michiko would be going," KOS said.

I rolled my eyes. "But Michiko wouldn't _really_ be going anyway, so why bother with trying to trick them?" I pointed out.

KOS sighed, and spoke slowly, as if conversing with an idiot, "You are doing this mission because there are no other ninjas in our nation that fits the requirements, and this is what _LORD AKIHIRO WANTS_!" He raised his voice at those last three words.

I raised my eyebrows. "Ok, ok, jeez, I get it! When is the mission?"

"Tomorrow,"

"That soon? You could have at least gave me more time to prepare," I whined

KOS took deep breaths, and in a strained voice, he said, "_Please_ don't complain. You will do the mission. Understood?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" I mockingly saluted.

"I need to take an aspirin," he muttered to himself. "Oh, and here is the file on Lady Michiko." He tossed a folder into my hands. "It has all the information you'll need on her- her appearance, interests, and etcetera. Tomorrow you'll meet with your escorts. They are a genin team from Konoha," he said.

I flipped through the files, and I was about to leave when I suddenly remembered something.

"How much will I be paid?"

KOS sighed. "Lord Akihiro will settle that matter later, when he sees how well you have done," Glaring at me he said, "You may leave now."

"'Kay then! Bye bye, KOS!" I waved cheerfully and got out of there, before he figured out what KOS stood for. Nah, he probably didn't have enough intelligence to decipher it. I snickered to myself.

-/-

When I got back to my home sweet home, I ate dinner (the ice cream) and flipped through the files. I found out that Lady Michiko looked pretty much like me- waist-length black hair and plain brown eyes. Nothing gorgeous, until you got to her…erm, cleavage. I groaned, 'cause there was _no way_ I was going to be able to pull _that_ off. Maybe I should just stuff toilet paper in my bra. Genjutsus are too tiring.

Flipping through more of the files while sipping on my aloe juice (I love aloe, that stuff just plain old rocks), I found that Lady Michiko also liked spicy food, which was going to be a disadvantage for me. I can't stand spicy food of any sort, so I was just going to hope we wouldn't encounter any on the way.

-/-

When I finally went to sleep, it was late. I yawned, and snuggling into the covers, I could only hope everything would turn out right, and my cover wouldn't be blown tomorrow.

-/-

**Remember to review!**

**From Her Royal Majesty,**

**The Chocolate Queen xoxo  
**


End file.
